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Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid the latest USA fixture to be SCRAPPED - but is it only a matter of time?
Barcelona's La Liga clash with Atletico Madrid has been rescheduled on Spanish soil once more after a failed attempt to host the match in the US.
The Spanish Football League announced the game will return to the Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc in Barcelona Saturday, December 21 for an 8pm Kick off (UK time). The Blaugrana are playing their home matches at the stadium for the time being as renovations to the famous Camp Nou are completed. La Liga president Javier Tebas remains forever optimistic that a Spanish top flight fixture will soon be held on international soil, with the financial incentives the major factor.
The fixture is the latest attempt to play a La Liga match in the USA to fail. Plans to play Barcelona's clash with Girona and a game between Atletico and Villarreal in 2019 also fell through, largely due to the amount of hurdles that needed to be overcome.
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Record Sport looks at why this move seems to appeal so much to some of football's higher ups.
What was the plan to host in Miami?
Miami was abruptly earmarked as the venue for the match just last month. The 'home' fixture for Barcelona would take place on December 22 at the Hard Rock Stadium. This is not where Lionel Messi's Inter Miami play. They host matches at the Chase Stadium. The move is an attempt to boost La Liga's financial coffers.
Back in 2018, the president anticipated that a single game held in the US would generate upwards of €200m. Revenue would be generated from matchday ticket sales at a NFL-sized stadium, a flurry of sponsorship deals and a media rights agreement that could be extremely lucrative for the league. Barca took on Real Madrid in a friendly in front of 82,500 fans in the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey last summer, for example.
Tebas for the better part of six years has been keen on hosting a La Liga fixture in the US to take advantage of clubs like FC Barcelona and Real Madrid’s growing popularity amongst American audiences. Tebas is also keen on revisiting plan in 2025-26 season as he attempts to close the gap to the riches of the Premier League and stave off the threat of a European Super League.
Why was it cancelled?
La Liga viewed the date as too soon to host its first-ever league fixture outside of Spain. FIFA’s stance on domestic league matches being played abroad has been a longstanding obstacle. Six years ago, La Liga and its event partner, Relevent Sports, attempted to host a Girona vs Barcelona game in Miami, only to have the proposal blocked. The fallout led to a lawsuit, which was resolved earlier this year. As part of the settlement, FIFA agreed to review its policy on league matches in foreign territories, sparking hope among leagues of holding such events in other countries.
Whilst this may prove lucrative for La Liga and its clubs, fans have almost unanimously rejected the idea of domestic league games being held outside of their home countries, due to a lack of consideration to them and missing out on attending one more game per season.
Is this a sign of the future - even for Scottish clubs?
Let's be clear, no major European league has staged match in the US.
But the conversation in Scottish circles is not new. Dundee FC managing director John Nelms just last week admitted the Dens Park club would be open to playing a William Hill Premiership match overseas in future. His words come nine years after their plan to take on Celtic in the United States was scuppered.
The Dees, owned by Texas-based businessman Tim Keyes, first floated the idea of playing a Premiership game in a foreign country back in 2015 and discussions were held with senior officials at Celtic about facing them in either Boston or Philadelphia. FIFA, UEFA and the MLS all expressed their reservations about the proposal and the idea was shelved.
Keyes said: "There are an enormous amount of hoops. It's FIFA, it's UEFA and the local leagues. But if it ever arose again that we're able to do that, we have a little bit more of an understanding of how it works now and we'd certainly be up for something like that."
